FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

INNOVA SOLUTIONS, INC.,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

KATHY A. BARAN, Director of 

California Service Center, U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration 

Services,

Defendant-Appellee.

No. 19-16849

D.C. No.

5:17-cv-03674-

VKD

OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of California

Virginia K. DeMarchi, Magistrate Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 20, 2020

Pasadena, California

Filed December 16, 2020

Before: Richard A. Paez and John B. Owens, Circuit 

Judges, and Morrison C. England, Jr.,* Senior 

District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Owens

* The Honorable Morrison C. England, Jr., United States Senior 

District Judge for the Eastern District of California, sitting by 

designation.
2 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

SUMMARY**

Immigration

The panel reversed the district court’s grant of summary 

judgment for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS), and remanded, concluding that USCIS’s denial of 

an H-1B temporary worker visa was arbitrary and 

capricious.

Innova Solutions, Inc. (Innova) wanted to hire a citizen 

of India with a bachelor’s degree as a computer programmer 

and petitioned for an H-1B “specialty occupation” visa on 

his behalf. Under the relevant regulation, Innova had to 

establish that a “baccalaureate or higher degree or its 

equivalent is normally the minimum requirement for entry 

into the particular position.” Although the Department of 

Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) provides 

that “[m]ost computer programmers have a bachelor’s 

degree,” and that a bachelor’s degree is the “[t]ypical level 

of education that most” computer programmers need, 

USCIS concluded that “the OOH does not state that at least 

a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in a specific specialty is 

normally the minimum required.”

The panel concluded that USCIS’s denial of the H-1B

visa petition was arbitrary and capricious. First, the panel 

explained that there is no daylight between typically needed, 

per the OOH, and normally required, per the regulation, and 

that USCIS’s suggestion that there is “space” between these 

** This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It 

has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.
INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN 3

words is so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a 

difference in view or the product of agency expertise. The 

panel also explained that the regulation is not ambiguous and 

deference to such an implausible interpretation is 

unwarranted.

Next, the panel concluded that USCIS’s decision was 

arbitrary and capricious because it misrepresented the OOH 

by stating that it provides that most computer programmers 

have a bachelor’s or associate’s degree when, in fact, the 

OOH provides that most have a bachelor’s degree. 

Finally, the panel concluded that USCIS’s decision was 

arbitrary and capricious because USCIS failed to consider 

key evidence, namely, the OOH language providing that a 

“bachelor’s degree” is the “[t]ypical level of education that 

most workers need to enter this occupation.”

COUNSEL

David A. Wulkan (argued), Jonathan R. Sturman, and David 

M. Sturman, Law Office of David M. Sturman A.P.C.,

Encino, California, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Elizabeth D. Kurlan (argued), Assistant United States 

Attorney; Sara Winslow, Chief, Civil Division; David L. 

Anderson, United States Attorney; United States Attorney’s 

Office, San Francisco, California; Joseph H. Hunt, Assistant 

Attorney General; William C. Peachey, Director; Glenn M. 

Girdharry, Assistant Director; Office of Immigration 

Litigation, Civil Division, United States Department of 

Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Defendant-Appellee.
4 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

Mary Kenney (argued), Washington, D.C.; Leslie K. Dellon, 

Washington, D.C.; as and for Amicus Curiae American 

Immigration Council.

OPINION

OWENS, Circuit Judge:

Innova Solutions, Inc. (Innova), a technology company 

that provides services including cloud storage and data 

analytics, appeals from the district court’s denial of its 

challenge to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ 

(USCIS) refusal to issue an H-1B temporary worker visa. 

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we reverse 

and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

Like many leading American technology companies, 

Innova needs computer programmers. Innova wanted to hire 

Dilip Dodda, a citizen of India with a bachelor’s degree, to 

work as one for a three-year period.

Innova petitioned for an H-1B “specialty occupation” 

visa so Dodda could reside and work in the United States.

See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b). Under the relevant 

statutory and regulatory regime,1 Innova had to establish that 

1 In October 2020, the Department of Homeland Security and 

USCIS promulgated an interim final rule that amends the regulatory 

criteria for qualifying as a specialty occupation. See Strengthening the 

H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program, 85 Fed. Reg. 63,918 

(Oct. 8, 2020). The new rule does not apply to pending or previously 

resolved visa petitions. Id. at 63,918, 63,924. The parties agree the 

amended language does not apply in this case.
INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN 5

the position required “theoretical and practical application of 

a body of highly specialized knowledge” and that “[a] 

baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally 

the minimum requirement for entry into the particular 

position.”2 See 8 U.S.C. § 1184(i)(1); 8 C.F.R. 

§ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(1).

USCIS relied on the Department of Labor’s 

Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) as an 

“authoritative source” to determine whether Dodda’s 

position “normally” requires a bachelor’s degree.3 

According to the OOH, “[m]ost computer programmers have 

a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related subject; 

however, some employers hire workers with an associate’s 

degree.” The OOH “Quick Facts” table for computer 

programmers similarly provided that a bachelor’s degree is 

the “[t]ypical level of education that most workers need to 

enter this occupation.”

Despite the OOH’s clear statements that “most” 

computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree and that a 

2 The implementing regulation provides three other independently 

sufficient pathways for demonstrating that a position is in a “specialty 

occupation.” See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(2)–(4). For example, a 

position also qualifies as a “specialty occupation” if the employer

normally requires a degree for the position. See id.

§ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(3). Only the first criterion is at issue on appeal.

3 The OOH provides hundreds of occupational profiles 

describing “the typical duties performed by the occupation” and “the 

typical education and training needed to enter the occupation,” 

among other information. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Occupational Information Included in the OOH (Sept. 1, 2020),

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/about/occupational-information-included-in-t

he-ooh.htm. We refer throughout this opinion to the 2016–2017 version 

of the OOH that USCIS cited in its decision.
6 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

bachelor’s degree is the “typical” level of education 

“need[ed]” for the position, USCIS concluded that Innova 

had failed to show that a computer programmer qualified as 

a specialty position:

While the OOH indicates that most computer 

programmers obtain a degree (either a 

bachelor’s or an associate’s degree) in 

computer science or a related field, the OOH 

does not state that at least a bachelor’s degree 

or its equivalent in a specific specialty is 

normally the minimum required for entry into 

the occupation. Further, the OOH also 

indicates that employers value computer 

programmers who have experience, which 

can be obtained through internships.4

Innova challenged USCIS’s denial of the visa in district 

court under section 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 

contending that the decision was arbitrary and capricious. 

The district court rejected that argument and granted 

summary judgment for USCIS, concluding that “the OOH 

description for the Computer Programmer occupation does 

not describe the normal minimum educational requirements 

of the occupation in a categorical fashion” because “at least 

some Computer Programmer positions may be performed by 

someone with an associate’s degree.” Innova then appealed.

4 From 2000 to 2017, USCIS followed agency guidance (referred to 

as the Way Memo) that “we will generally consider the position of 

programmer to qualify as a specialty occupation” under the first 

regulatory criterion. In 2017, USCIS issued guidance rescinding the 

Way Memo. USCIS did not explicitly rely on the rescission memo in 

the instant case but followed its logic.
INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN 7

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

We review de novo a district court’s ruling on crossmotions for summary judgment. Guatay Christian 

Fellowship v. County of San Diego, 670 F.3d 957, 970 (9th 

Cir. 2011). “This court also reviews de novo the district 

court’s evaluations of an agency’s actions.” San Luis & 

Delta-Mendota Water Auth. v. Locke, 776 F.3d 971, 991 (9th 

Cir. 2014).

Under the Administrative Procedure Act, we must set 

aside agency action “found to be arbitrary, capricious, an 

abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with 

law.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). An action is arbitrary and 

capricious if the agency “entirely failed to consider an 

important aspect of the problem, offered an explanation for 

its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the 

agency, or is so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a 

difference in view or the product of agency expertise.” Nat’l 

Ass’n of Home Builders v. Defs. of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644, 

658 (2007) (quoting Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S., Inc. 

v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 (1983)).

To survive a challenge, the agency must articulate “a 

satisfactory explanation” for its action, “including a rational 

connection between the facts found and the choice made.” 

Dep’t of Com. v. New York, 139 S. Ct. 2551, 2569 (2019)

(citation omitted). We may not attempt to make up for 

deficiencies in the decision by “supply[ing] a reasoned basis 

for the agency’s action that the agency itself has not given.” 

Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 136 S. Ct. 2117, 2127 

(2016) (citation omitted).
8 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

B. USCIS’s Denial of the H-1B Visa Petition Was 

Arbitrary and Capricious

The OOH is the only source upon which USCIS relied to 

conclude that a bachelor’s degree is not “normally” required 

for computer programming positions like Innova’s. The 

OOH stated that “[m]ost computer programmers have a 

bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related subject.” 

The OOH also listed a bachelor’s degree as the “[t]ypical 

level of education that most workers need to enter” the 

computer programmer occupation.

USCIS’s decision in light of that evidence was arbitrary 

and capricious. Mirroring the regulatory language, the 

decision explains: “the OOH does not state that at least a 

bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in a specific specialty is 

normally the minimum required for entry into the 

occupation.” Although the OOH, a career education 

resource published by a different agency, did not use the 

precise language of the H-1B regulation, it made clear that a 

bachelor’s degree is not only common but typically needed. 

There is no daylight between typically needed, per the OOH, 

and normally required, per the regulatory criteria. 

“Typically” and “normally” are synonyms. Normally, 

Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, https://www.merriamwebster.com/thesaurus/normally. The Supreme Court uses 

these words interchangeably in the same sentence.5 So do 

5 See, e.g., Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 744 (2006) (“In 

contrast to the pollutants normally covered by the permitting requirement 

of § 1342(a), ‘dredged or fill material,’ which is typically deposited for 

the sole purpose of staying put, does not normally wash downstream.” 

(citation omitted) (emphases added)); Miller v. Albright, 523 U.S. 420, 

469 (1998) (Ginsburg, J., dissenting) (“These generalizations pervade 

the opinion of Justice Stevens, which constantly relates and relies on 
INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN 9

we.6 So does the United States Solicitor General.7 And so 

does the federal government.8

USCIS’s contrary reasoning is beyond saving. There is 

no “rational connection” between the only source USCIS 

cited, which indicated most computer programmers have a 

bachelor’s degree and that a bachelor’s degree is typically 

needed, and USCIS’s decision that a bachelor’s degree is not 

normally required. See Dep’t of Com., 139 S. Ct. at 2569 

(citation omitted); Next Generation Tech., Inc. v. Johnson, 

328 F. Supp. 3d 252, 267 (S.D.N.Y. 2017) (noting that the 

court “is at a loss to see a ‘rational connection’” in the same 

context). USCIS’s suggestion that there is “space” (which 

we understand to connote a difference in meaning) between 

these words is “so implausible that it could not be ascribed 

to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.” 

Defs. of Wildlife, 551 U.S. at 658 (citation omitted). While 

it is theoretically possible that there is “space” between 

what ‘typically,’ or ‘normally,’ or ‘probably’ happens ‘often.’” 

(emphases added)).

6 See, e.g., United States v. Sierra Pac. Indus., Inc., 862 F.3d 1157, 

1168 (9th Cir. 2017) (“[M]ere nondisclosure of evidence is typically not 

enough to constitute fraud on the court, and perjury by a party or witness, 

by itself, is not normally fraud on the court.” (internal quotation marks 

and citation omitted) (emphases added)); United States v. Flores-Blanco, 

623 F.3d 912, 915 (9th Cir. 2010).

7 See Brief for the United States at 3, Boyle v. United States, 

556 U.S. 938 (2009) (No. 07-1309) (“After scouting for banks likely to 

have vulnerable and cash-rich night-deposit boxes, typically located in 

retail areas, like shopping malls, the group would normally execute 

robberies in the early morning hours.” (internal citations omitted) 

(emphases added)).

8 See, e.g., 30 C.F.R. § 580.30; 33 C.F.R. § 203.71; 40 C.F.R. 

§ 98.128; 45 C.F.R. § 1801.4.
10 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

normally, most, and typically, that space is at best molecular, 

and nowhere near big enough for the doublespeak freight 

train that USCIS tries to drive through it.

In response, USCIS points to OOH language stating that 

“some employers hire workers with an associate’s degree.” 

But the fact that some computer programmers are hired 

without a bachelor’s degree is entirely consistent with a 

bachelor’s degree “normally [being] the minimum 

requirement for entry.” 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(1) 

(emphasis added); see also Taylor Made Software, Inc. v. 

Cuccinelli, 453 F. Supp. 3d 237, 246 (D.D.C. 2020)

(“[USCIS] cannot simply rely on the OOH’s recognition that 

an unspecified number of contrary cases exist. That is not a 

rational treatment of the language in the OOH.”) Normally 

does not mean always.9

 See Normally, Cambridge 

Dictionary (2019), https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dict

ionary/english/normally (defining “normally” as “usually or 

regularly” and “usually, or in most cases” (emphasis 

added)); see also United States v. Corey, 232 F.3d 1166, 

1180 (9th Cir. 2000) (distinguishing “normally” from 

“always”); Riverbend Farms, Inc. v. Madigan, 958 F.2d 

1479, 1488 (9th Cir. 1992) (same); 5 C.F.R. § 551.202(h) 

(same). While agencies are entitled to deference in 

interpreting their own ambiguous regulations, this regulation 

is not ambiguous and deference to such an implausible 

interpretation is unwarranted. See Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 

2400, 2414 (2019) (limiting Auer deference to regulations 

9 That USCIS recently issued an interim final rule amending this 

regulation to delete the word “normally” from the first criterion so that 

that a bachelor’s degree is “always the requirement” for the occupation 

confirms this common sense reading of the prior regulatory language. 

See 85 Fed. Reg. at 63,926. As discussed above, this amendment does 

not impact the instant appeal.
INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN 11

that are “genuinely ambiguous, even after a court has 

resorted to all the standard tools of interpretation”); Mejia v. 

Ashcroft, 298 F.3d 873, 878 (9th Cir. 2002) (noting that an 

agency “does not have the discretion to misapply the law.”). 

USCIS’s unreasonable reading of the regulatory language 

here is therefore arbitrary and capricious. See Salehpour v. 

INS, 761 F.2d 1442, 1447 (9th Cir. 1985) (“Where the 

objective criteria of a regulation are clearly met, there is no 

room for an agency to interpret a regulation so as to add 

another requirement.”).

On appeal, USCIS tries to distance itself from the 

“authoritative source” upon which it chose to rely 

exclusively in its decision. USCIS contends that the OOH 

alone cannot establish “whether an occupation qualifies per 

se as a specialty occupation” because “[i]n some instances, 

as with the Computer Programmer occupation here, it is not 

a sufficient source of information.” In other words, where 

the OOH states that some positions do not require a 

bachelor’s degree, USCIS does not consider the OOH a 

“sufficient source of information.” That argument is related 

to the basis for the district court’s decision: because some 

computer programmers are hired with associate’s degrees, 

Innova “had the burden to show that the particular position 

offered to Mr. Dodda was among the Computer Programmer 

positions for which a bachelor’s degree was normally 

required.”

These arguments are flawed. First, by demanding 

additional proof anytime some positions within an 

occupation require less than a bachelor’s degree, USCIS 

again improperly equates “normally” with “always.” These 

contentions also misconstrue the regulation and flout 

USCIS’s own approach to applying it. While it is true that 

the regulation refers to the requirement of a bachelor’s 
12 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

degree “for entry into the particular position,” 8 C.F.R. 

§ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(1) (emphasis added), USCIS 

determined that Dodda’s “particular position” is indeed 

computer programmer, and not a sub-group within that 

classification. As USCIS told the district court, this is the 

first of two steps in USCIS’s analysis of the first regulatory 

criterion.

Second, “the agency categorically determines whether 

the educational requirements of that occupation group in the 

OOH normally requires for entry at least a bachelor’s degree 

in a specific specialty.” Therefore, by USCIS’s own 

admission, showing that the matching occupational group in 

the OOH normally requires a bachelor’s degree satisfies the 

regulation. No additional proof about whether the position 

falls within some sub-group is required. By requiring Innova 

to show its “particular position . . . was among the Computer 

Programmer positions for which a bachelor’s degree was 

normally required,” the district court’s ruling functionally 

requires visa petitioners to demonstrate that their particular 

position actually requires a bachelor’s degree. That 

approach is plainly inconsistent with the language of the first 

regulatory criterion and USCIS practice. Moreover, it 

conflates the first criterion, which only asks whether the 

position normally requires a bachelor’s degree, and the third 

criterion, which asks whether the employer normally 

requires a bachelor’s degree for the position. Compare 

8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(1), with id. 

§ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(3). And as both parties acknowledge, 

the four criteria are independent—a petitioner need only 

satisfy any one criterion to establish that a position is in a 

“specialty occupation.” Id. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A).

USCIS’s decision was also arbitrary and capricious 

because in misrepresenting the OOH, it “offered an 
INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN 13

explanation for its decision that [ran] counter to the evidence 

before [it].” Defs. of Wildlife, 551 U.S. at 658 (citation 

omitted). We have required agency decisions to accurately 

reflect the evidentiary record. See Cerrillo-Perez v. INS, 

809 F.2d 1419, 1422 (9th Cir. 1987) (“[W]hen important 

aspects of the individual claim are distorted or disregarded, 

the BIA has abused its discretion.” (internal quotation marks 

and citation omitted)).

According to the USCIS decision, the OOH stated that 

“the [computer programmer] occupation allows for a wide 

range of educational credentials, including an associate’s 

degree to qualify.” But rather than suggesting a “wide 

range,” the OOH stated: “Most computer programmers have 

a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related subject; 

however, some employers hire workers with an associate’s 

degree.” The USCIS decision continues: “the OOH 

indicates that most computer programmers obtain a degree 

(either a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree) in computer 

science or a related field.” But as the district court 

acknowledged, that “mischaracterizes the OOH.” The OOH 

did not state that most computer programmers have either a 

bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, but rather that most 

“have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related 

subject.”

While a factual error is not necessarily fatal to an agency 

decision, whether most programmers have a bachelor’s (as 

opposed to either a bachelor’s or associate’s) degree is the 

core question upon which USCIS’s determination here 

hinged. Because we may only affirm on the basis provided 

by the agency, SEC v. Chenery Corp., 332 U.S. 194, 196 

(1947), and in any case, the agency has not disavowed this 

view, this serious misconstruction of the only source 

considered was arbitrary and capricious.
14 INNOVA SOLUTIONS V. BARAN

Finally, USCIS failed to consider key evidence. A 

decision is arbitrary and capricious if the agency “entirely 

failed to consider an important aspect of the problem.” Defs. 

of Wildlife, 551 U.S. at 658 (citation omitted). “We will 

defer to an agency’s decision only if it is ‘fully informed and 

well-considered.’” Sierra Club v. Bosworth, 510 F.3d 1016, 

1023 (9th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). The OOH listed 

“bachelor’s degree” as the “[t]ypical level of education that 

most workers need to enter this occupation.” That language 

speaks directly to the question whether a bachelor’s degree 

is normally required for computer programmers. Indeed, it 

preempts USCIS’s core argument on appeal: that “there is a 

difference between workers in a particular occupation

‘having’ a degree and what the industry (including other 

employers) normally ‘requires,’” and that the OOH only 

establishes the former. Despite appearing at the top of the 

OOH’s landing page for computer programmers, this OOH 

language was not mentioned anywhere in USCIS’s decision. 

USCIS’s failure to consider evidence so central to the 

inquiry is yet another (and independent) reason why its 

decision was arbitrary and capricious, and why we must 

reverse.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.